Start here
The Ancient City of Carthage: A Phoenician Metropolis
Carthage as a city: the Dido founding legend and what archaeology adds, the Byrsa hill, the circular harbour, and a government of suffetes, council and assembly.
Greece, Rome and Europe
Tyre and Carthage
Two great Phoenician cities, the mother city in Lebanon and its western colony in Tunisia.
Carthaginian Religion and the Tophet Debate
What is known about the gods of Carthage, including Baal Hammon, Tanit and Melqart, and why scholars still disagree about the Carthaginian tophet burial grounds.
The Ancient City of Carthage: A City of Trade and War
How Carthage turned Mediterranean trade into a paid army and navy, why it relied on Carthaginian mercenaries, and how its commercial empire ended in 146 BCE.
The Ancient City of Tyre: A City of Phoenician Wonder
Tyre's island setting, its two harbours, and the reign of King Hiram, who according to the Bible supplied cedar and craftsmen for Solomon's temple in Jerusalem.
The Ancient City of Tyre: A Marvel of Phoenician Architecture
What a visitor sees at Tyre today: the Roman-era hippodrome, the Al-Bass necropolis and colonnaded street, with Phoenician remains lying deeper beneath.
The Destruction of Carthage in 146 BC
How Rome besieged and destroyed Carthage in 146 BCE, what happened to its people and territory, and why the salted-earth story is probably a later invention.
Related topics
More in greece, rome and europe
Greek Democracy and Civic Life How Athens and other Greek states governed themselves and competed. Greek Philosophy The schools and thinkers of ancient Greek philosophy. Greek Art, Nature and Harmony Greek art and ideas about nature, proportion and balance. Greek Theater and Tragedy Drama, tragedy and comedy in ancient Greece. Greek Sanctuaries and Cities Famous sanctuaries and Greek-founded cities. Anatolian Greek and Roman Cities The great cities of western Anatolia, from Ionian foundation to Roman rule. Aegean Bronze Age Minoans, Mycenaeans and Troy before classical Greece. Peoples on Greek Borders Neighbouring peoples of Anatolia and the Balkans. Greek History and Overviews Broad surveys of Greek history from the city-states to the Athenian empire and the classical legacy. Persian Wars and Ancient Battles The Persian invasions of Greece and other decisive battles from Marathon to Cannae. Greek Myth and the Trojan War Gods, monsters, Homeric epic and the long debate over whether Troy fell as the poems say. Lydians, Carians and Anatolia Western Anatolian peoples and steppe raiders who shaped the eastern Greek world. Roman Conquest and Expansion How a city on the Tiber became the master of the Mediterranean through war and organisation. Roman Power and Decline Ambition, corruption and the long fall of the western empire, with its Frankish aftermath. Pompeii and Vesuvius The Roman town buried by the eruption of 79 CE and what it shows about daily life. Roman Provincial Cities Antioch, Gerasa, Palmyra and Timgad, cities at the edges of Roman rule. Etruscan History and Origins The people of Etruria in central Italy, their cities, beliefs, origins and decline. Etruscan Art and Craft Tomb paintings, black pottery and terracotta sculpture of ancient Etruria. Lost Peoples and Places Lesser-known cultures and sites around the western Mediterranean and Europe. Celtic Art and Craft Celtic style, knotwork, metalwork and illuminated books. Celtic Peoples and Druids The Celtic tribes, the druids as Roman writers described them, and belief. Picts of Scotland The people and kingdoms of early medieval and Roman-era northern Britain. Atlantis in Plato The Atlantis story as Plato told it and how later readers used it. Ancient Manuscripts and Scripts Undeciphered and famous texts: Voynich, Dead Sea Scrolls and Rongorongo. Daily Life in Greece and Rome Food, homes, baths, festivals and travel in ordinary Greek and Roman lives. Law and Justice in Antiquity Courts, codes, reformers and the rules that governed Greek, Roman and Egyptian life. Ancient Medicine Healers, doctors and medical ideas from Mesopotamia to Rome.